Five musicians Jack White has had issues with
Jack White is arguably one of the greatest musical minds in the world.
No matter what stage of his career you consider, while he may be inconsistent in his look, band name, and style of sound, the thing that remains consistent is his output of excellent music. Whether you’re listening to his solo material, The Raconteurs, The Dead Weather or, of course, The White Stripes, you can guarantee you’ll hear exciting vocals, hard-hitting riffs and some of the most mind-altering solos this side of millennia.
It’s certainly been a great career for White, but that hasn’t come without its fair share of trials and tribulations. The guitarist is notoriously hot-headed, an energy which he usually puts into his guitar, but occasionally finds itself in a clenched fist. With fights, angry messages and angsty interviews, Jack White is no stranger to beef with his fellow creatives.
With that in mind, these are five of the artists he has had continued feuds with that have led to some form of resentment.
Five artists Jack White has had serious beef with:
The Black Keys
Jack White has always been proud of his ability to come up with original-sounding music, which is why he hated The Black Keys so much, as he felt as though the band were guilty of trying to copy his style.
In a leaked email thread with his ex-wife Karen Elson, he mentioned the band’s meticulous mimicry. “That’s a possible 12 fucking years I’m going to have to be sitting in kids [sic] chairs next to that asshole with other people trying to lump us in together,” he said, “He gets yet another freee [sic] reign to follow me around and copy me and push himself into my world.”
He may have taken things a step too far when he went to the Cabin Down Below bar in New York and tried to start a fight with the band’s drummer, Patrick Carney, who, when reflecting on the altercation, compared White to the bullies he had faced growing up in high school, and it became abundantly clear he doesn’t have any respect for the White Stripes frontman.
“I don’t fight and don’t get fighting, but he was mad!!! He is why I play music,” said Carney, “The bully assholes who made me feel like nothing. Music was a private, non-competitive thing… Not the best drummer, but a passionate one. But anyway, Jack White. A 40-year-old bully tried to fight the 35-year-old nerd.”
Meg White
It’s no secret that the duo had their issues when in The White Stripes, which has led to Jack White vocalising his disdain towards his ex-wife on multiple occasions. In an interview with the New York Times, he said that she was in control of the whole band and was incredibly stubborn.
“Meg completely controlled the White Stripes,” he claimed, “She’s the most stubborn person I’ve ever met, and you don’t even get to know the reasons”.
He also said that she was never happy with anything they made if it had been Jack’s idea. According to the guitarist, if he came up with an exciting riff or concept for a song, she would barely react.
“She’s one of those people who won’t high-five me when I get the touchdown,” he said, “She viewed me that way of ‘Oh, big deal, you did it, so what?’ Almost every single moment of the White Stripes was like that. We’d be working in the studio, and something amazing would happen: I’m like, ‘Damn, we just broke into a new world right there!’ And Meg’s sitting in silence.”
Ryan Adams
It turns out Ryan Adams is a pretty big fan of Jack White, especially the music he made with The White Stripes, as he said the “motherfucker knows rock ‘n’ roll like sugar knows ice cream”. Adams was such a big lover that he decided to perform some covers of White Stripes songs, but change the lyrics so that they suited whatever occasion he was singing for.
Jack White took massive issue with this move, seemingly believing that if you were going to cover one of his songs, you should cover it wholeheartedly, and in turn, Adams was furious at White’s disdain.
“Did little girl White talk back?” he said in an interview with NME, “I don’t have a problem with him, he started it […] But what’s he doing on the internet, seeing what’s being said, saying, ‘I see you changed my lyrics’. Fucking ponce.”
Billy Childish
When you enter the creative world, you need to be capable of taking criticism, as lord knows plenty is going to come your way.
It seems this wasn’t one of Jack White’s strong suits, especially in the early days of his career, as when Billy Childish said he wasn’t a fan of The White Stripes, it prompted a blog post from White that didn’t hold back in releasing resentment. Some would argue it was an overexaggeration, but White certainly made his point.
“Meg and I really feel sorry for you,” said White, “It must be lonely sitting in all of that garage rock bitterness, Billy. You know, children, when you take someone else’s music and put your own lyrics on top of it, it’s still called plagiarism.”
Jason Stollsteimer
While at an album launch party in the early noughties, White bumped into Jason Stollsteimer, the Von Bondies lead singer. The actual details of what was said between the two artists are still unknown, but it led to the two of them having a full-blown fist fight. The story goes that White threw the singer to the ground and punched him repeatedly.
Seemingly denying the allegations (or at the very least claiming they were exaggerated), White said, “It’s so funny that when the aroma of money and fame is in the air, old friends will quickly step on your face to get to it”.
What actually happened that night remains somewhat in dispute, but White eventually pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, was fined $750 and had to attend anger management classes as a result.
